


traveling at the speed of light

by peace_love_happiness



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Asexual Relationship, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Misunderstandings, Oblivious Crowley (Good Omens)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 00:56:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20073481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peace_love_happiness/pseuds/peace_love_happiness
Summary: As they exited the Ritz on the first day of the day of the rest of their lives, Aziraphale surprised Crowley by taking his hand. Crowley jumped at the contact. Him and Aziraphale rarely touched, and when they did it was typically just a slight brush, not sustained contact. Crowley turned to say something, to ask what was going on.





	traveling at the speed of light

As they exited the Ritz on the first day of the day of the rest of their lives, Aziraphale surprised Crowley by taking his hand.

Crowley jumped at the contact. Him and Aziraphale rarely touched, and when they did it was typically just a slight brush, not sustained contact. Crowley turned to say something, to ask what was going on. 

Aziraphale was looking at him with a nervous little smile on his face. Crowley opened his mouth and closed it. What reason did he have to complain? This is what he had always dreamed of, wasn’t it? Holding hands with his angel. Of course, it wasn’t because Aziraphale shared his feelings. It had been a long week. They both had nearly lost each other, hell, Crowley did think that he had lost Aziraphale for a moment. Crowley squeezed Aziraphale’s hand, and the angel’s smile grew.

“It’s going to be all right now, isn’t it?” said Aziraphale.

“It’s going to be more than all right, angel,” said Crowley. “We’ve saved the world. We’re free from our superiors. We can do whatever we want.”

“Free,” said Aziraphale.“We don’t have to hide anymore, do we? Our relationship.”

“Nope.” Indeed, they could finally hang out with each other openly, without any worry. Aziraphale was finally admitting they were friends. Of course, Crowley would prefer if they were a bit more than friends, but he would take what he could get.

They walked to the Bentley and Crowley dropped Aziraphale off at his bookshop.

“Do you want to come in?” asked Aziraphale.

“I would love to, but I’m quite tired, angel. I need a nap.”

“Not for another century?”

“Nah, just the standard eight hours.”

“Oh good.” Aziraphale gave Crowley a hug. Crowley’s hands hovered, unsure of what to do. 

“See you soon, Aziraphale,” he said, and left.

* * *

For most of the time of the Arrangement, Crowley and Aziraphale would meet about twice a year, not counting the times they ‘accidentally’ bumped into each other. They met up about once a week when they were trying to stop the apocalypse. Crowley expected that to continue. After all, a week wasn’t very long when you’ve lived six thousand years. 

So Crowley was somewhat surprised when Aziraphale called the very next day, asking him to see a new exhibit at a local art gallery. Crowley agreed. To be perfectly honest, he was a bit nervous about Aziraphale. While Crowley had said last night that they were safe, a small part of him was still worried that Heaven and Hell would figure out what they did. 

So together they looked at the paintings. One of the paintings that got Crowley’s attentions was one of those uber-minimalistic paintings that it seemed anyone could reproduce. From far away it looked like it was all black, but when you looked a bit closer it turned out it was actually four squares that were slightly different shades of black.

“I invented this sort of art, you know,” said Crowley. “Low effort, but people will pay thousands for it.”

“It’s not low effort,” said Aziraphale, staring at the squares. “I’m sure it’s all a metaphor for something.”

“Oh really?” Crowley raised an eyebrow. “What do you think this is a metaphor for?

“Well, there’s no way to know what the artist intended. However, I believe it intends to show…Er...:” Aziraphale stuttered.

“Art like this is all meaningless, Aziraphale. Just admit it.”

“No, just give me a second. See, at first it all looks the same, you know, the blackness. But when you get closer, you see they’re not all the same. Like, like how not all demons are the same. You’re a demon, but you’re not like the rest. Same with me, I’m not like the rest of the angels.” Aziraphale nodded. “Yes, that’s the meaning.”

“Oh, you’re projecting. The artist wasn’t thinking about demons and angels when she made this.”

“But it’s the general sort of idea. You got to look closely at things before you judge them.” Aziraphale suddenly grabbed his hand again. “Isn’t that right?”

Crowley supposed that was true. When him and Aziraphale first met, he was about to pass the angel off as just another stuffy bore until he admitted he gave away the flaming sword. Of course.

Again, as they seperated Aziraphale hugged him. 

* * *

The next day however, Aziraphale wanted to go to the zoo. They had only visited the zoo once before, shortly after the first Harry Potter movie came out. Crowley made the glass of the window of the snake enclosure disappear, and a bit of chaos happened. Aziraphale had scowled at him, but yet miracled the incident to be seen as some sort of strange PR stunt. Crowley agreed to go, of course. 

Today however, Aziraphale seemed to be focused on the bird exhibit. 

“Barn owls are quite romantic animals, you know,” said Aziraphale. 

“Hm,” said Crowley.

“They mate for life, you know. They even cuddle with each other. Isn’t that sweet?”

Crowley wished he was a barn owl.

“If their mate passes away, the other one is so depressed it wills themself to death.”

Relatable, thought Crowley.

“They’re relatable animals, aren’t they?” said Aziraphale.

“What? Don’t say that, angel. We’re a bit codependent-” Or at the very least, Crowley was. “But we can live without each other.”

“You’re right, that’s a bit morbid, isn’t it? I would be quite depressed if you died, of course?”

“Can we not talk about each other dying?”

“I’m sorry, it’s a bit too soon, isn’t it? We’re like them in other ways, though.” 

“You may be a bird. I’m a snake that just happens to have wings sometimes.”

Aziraphale squeezed his hand. 

* * *

The next day however, Aziraphale wanted to go to the London Eye. Crowley made an attempt to put his foot down on that.

“The London Eye is nothing more than a tourist trap, Aziraphale. Everyone knows that.”

“Well yes, but I’ve never been there. You got to try everything once, they say.”

So, Crowley reluctantly went on the London Eye with Aziraphale, pulling a few miracles to bypass the line and get them their own private carriage. 

“Is this worth it, Aziraphale?” asked Crowley as the ferris wheel slowly began to go up. 

Aziraphale smiled at him and yet again grabbed his hand. “It is if I get to spend time with you, dear.”

Crowley opened his mouth and closed it. Aziraphale was always somewhat sappy, sure, but he had been unusually clingy the last few days. “Does this all have to do with the apocalypse?” he finally said.

“Does what?”

“You know, the past few days. All the hand-holding and trips.”

“Well, you said it. We’re free. We can do what we want, be more open about our relationship, make up for lost time. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Not at all.” If Aziraphale wanted to spend more time with him after finally admitting they were friends, then Crowley was perfectly fine with that. A small part of him still wondered if this was connected to Aziraphale no longer being on speaking terms with Heaven. The only thing they really was each other. Of course, the angel was a bit off on what friendship entitled in modern times. Aziraphale was a few centuries behind with the hand-holding between friends, but Crowley was a demon after all. He could let that slide. “But what’s with all of these special places?” 

“It’s just, whenever we go out, we always do the same thing. Isn’t that boring?”

“Do you think it’s boring?”

“Well, no.”

“I don’t, either. It’s not what you do that makes it fun, you know? It’s the company.”

“Oh, I see. You don’t mind the same walks through the parks and dinners at the Ritz?”

“I helped save the world just for them, didn’t I? If you want to spend every day with me, there’s nothing wrong with that. I understand why, after everything. But I can just hang out in your bookshop. We don’t need to do something special every day.”

“Ah, that’s good to hear. Planning all these dates was getting stressful.”

* * *

Crowley thought that everything would be back to normal after that, but the next day Aziraphale came over to Crowley’s flat with a bouquet of dark red flowers. Carnations, perhaps, Crowley wasn’t too sure.

“You look nice today, darling.” 

Crowley sputtered. Darling? What happened to dear? Darling?

“Do you not like that?” asked Aziraphale, worried. 

“No, it’s just a bit different. What’s this?” 

“You like plants, don’t you?”

“Well, yes.” Crowley stared at the cut flowers. He wasn’t a big fan of bouquets like these. People typically gave them to those they liked, but they shriveled up after a week or so in a metaphor for most relationships. Crowley couldn’t say that to Aziraphale, but the angel clearly saw the mixed emotions on his face. 

“Oh, you don’t like them,” said Aziraphale, voice quivering slightly.

“It’s not that, it’s just, I prefer growing plants, you know? Instead of just showing them. But it is a nice bouquet.” Though why Aziraphale decided suddenly to get him flowers was beyond Crowley.

The next day, Aziraphale came over with a potted plants. Specifically, little blue ones.

“They’re forget-me-nots,” said Aziraphale. “In case you need to know that to take care of them.” Crowley looked at the flowers. They were nice, but… “Oh, you don’t like these either, do you?”

“Aziraphale, these are pretty, but flowers… Flowers are too arrogant.”

“Arrogant?” asked Aziraphale.

“Yes, they think they’re so much better because they’re colorful. In reality, flowers tend to die easier. They don’t think they need to in as much effort, you see. They’re annoying..”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Aziraphale. “I’ll return it and get you a proper plant.”

“You don’t have to do that. I can take care of it.”

“I’m not going to force you to take care of a flower you don’t want. Oh, I don’t know if leafy plants have languages though.”

Languages? Oh, right. It was a trend in the eighteenth century to give flowers meaning. Crowley never bothered learning it, most of them were just variants of affection. What did forget-me-nots mean? Was Aziraphale afraid Crowley would forget him, leave him behind? 

“I told you angel, I’ll always be there for you. You don’t have to get me presents to bribe me.”

“Oh, you’re always getting me books.” That was true. Crowley had snuck his way to the front of the line at many a book signing over the years.

Aziraphale leaned against his shoulder as they watched The Great British Bake-Off, and Crowley’s confusion increased

The next day, Aziraphale arrived with a houseplant, one with tall leaves. “It’s called a snake plant. It doesn’t have any special meaning, unfortunately.”

“The name’s a little on point though, don’t you think?” 

“It was either that or Devil’s Ivy.”

“This’ll work just fine.” Crowley had a snake plant before, but it had failed him. He would make sure this one did better though, and they headed to the Ritz.

* * *

“I’ve been thinking,” said Aziraphale as they were waiting for their food to come, “the Apocalypse has, well it’s ruined London a bit, don’t you think? I can’t walk through St James Park anymore without worrying Gabriel or some demon will pop out I think I got a solution though.” Crowley knew exactly what Aziraphale meant. Before Aziraphale’s bookshop felt more home than his flat, but now he couldn’t be in it without remembering it covered in flames.“I’ve been thinking,” Aziraphale continued, “maybe it’s time to move.”

“Move?” said Crowley, trying to stop his voice from shaking and failing miserably. So this was it, huh? After a few weeks of closeness Aziraphale was going to leave him. Ah well. It was bound to happen sooner or later. “Where to?”

“I hear the South Downs are quite nice. I’ve been looking at a little cottage. There’s two bedrooms, but I could use one as a library. Plenty of room for a garden. Very quaint.”

At least that was close. He could still visit, that is, if the angel wanted him to. Maybe he was also sick of Crowley. “Sounds good,” he said, voice shaking a bit.

Aziraphale frowned. “Really? Are you sure”

“Yeah, you would like it there. All rustic and quaint.”

“Well, yes, but would you like it?” asked Aziraphale.

“Why does that matter? Do what you want. I don’t care,” said Crowley in a voice that made it very clear he did care but was trying his hardest not to. 

“I feel like this is a decision we should be making together,” said Aziraphale slowly.

“Why? It’s your house. I don’t know much about real estate, I can’t help you there..”

“It’ll be your house too, of course,” said Aziraphale as if it was obvious. “You do know that when I talk about moving, I mean moving with you, right?”

“What?” Aziraphale wanted to live with him. Why? “I didn’t know that. How would I know that?”

“I thought I didn’t have to say that. You really think I would move away without you?”

“No, but I wasn’t expecting you to want to live with me.”

“You don’t mind, do you?”

It was a bit more rustic than Crowley would like, but he supposed a change of pace would be nice. “Wouldn’t we need three bedrooms though? One for you, one for me, and one for your library.”

“You want your own bedroom?”

“I suppose you hardly sleep, don’t you? One could work.”

“I suppose, if that would make you happy,” said Aziraphale, sounding strangely disappointed. 

* * *

A week later, they went to look at the cottage. Crowley thought it was nice enough, but he wasn’t sure if it would hold all of Aziraphale’s books. A few miracles could fix anything, though. 

“So, how long have you two been together?” asked the real estate agent at the end of the tour. 

Crowley froze. This wasn’t the first time that they’ve been asked that question over the years, but this was the first time they’ve been asked it holding hands. 

“Er…” said Aziraphale, scrunching up his face in thought. “Four...ty?”

“Forty years?” The lady frowned. “How old are you?”

“Older than we look,” said Crowley, wanting to exit the conversation. “We really need to get going, want to check out the town before we decide on anything.”

“Of course. Have a nice day.”

* * *

“She thought we were a couple,” hissed Crowley.

“I know that,” said Aziraphale.

“Then why did you tell her we’ve been together for forty years?”

“I wasn’t thinking. It seemed like the most reasonable number at the time,” said Aziraphale, wringing his hands. “Oh, have I messed things up?”

“No, why were you playing along?”

“What do you mean?” said Aziraphale, staring at him blankly.

“Why’d you act like you’re dating?”

“You don’t want people to know?” Aziraphale sighed. “Am I going too fast for you, Crowley?”

“Have I been going too fast for you, dear?”

“What? What do you mean, going too fast?”

“You act weird when I touch you, you wanted to have seperate rooms, and now you don’t want people to know that we’re together,” said Aziraphale. 

Crowley’s brain stopped working for a few seconds. “Wh-What?” he said flatly.

“I know not hiding our relationship anymore is quite a change.”

“We’re not dating,” said Crowley quickly. “I would know if we were dating.”

“But… We are?” said Aziraphale very slowly. 

“Since when have we been dating?”

“Since Rome. Remember? We got oysters together.”

“That was a date?”

“I thought it was. I mean, whenever we would meet up, we would get lunch or go on a walk in the park together. I’m fond of you, and it’s clear you’re fond of me. Or at least I thought it was. Oh dear. I- I’m sorry.” 

The angel looked so guilty Crowley couldn’t stand it.

“I’ve been pining for you since Eden, angel, okay?” Aziraphale breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “You’re the one who was always ‘you go too fast, Crowley. Oh, I don’t even know him. We’re not even friends.’”

“If our superiors found out, they would’ve killed us. I thought it was an unspoken Arrangement, you know, that we had to be subtle.”

“And now that it’s all over we don’t have to be subtle anymore,” said Crowley, “which explains the hand holding and the dates and the moving in together.” Aziraphale nodded. “You weren’t going too fast, just give me a warning next time, okay?”

“Of course.” Aziraphale took Crowley’s hand. “What do you think? You want to move here?”

“It seems like a nice enough place. I think the plants will like it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr [here](https://peace-love-happiness.tumblr.com).


End file.
